Coronavirus has spread nothing. It has been severe to all irrespective of country, region, or territory. It affected the whole of humanity. Trade activities around the world were crippled due to the devastating consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nationwide lockdown in this period wreaked havoc on businesses which will take a good deal of time to recuperate, stand up and come back to normal.
India, a Prominent Economy in The World Despite the Pandemic
There have also been some silver linings on the cloud in the wake of the pandemic when it comes to the Indian economy. It is not that the crippling effects of coronavirus did not impact the Indian economy, but it also opened a few new doors for businesses, especially where China had the prior lead.
Consider the European market, about 43% of imported goods are accounted for by Asian countries, and the percentage raises significantly when other international markets are also taken into consideration. In this scenario, India is one of the top destinations for importing metals, automobiles, plastic, crude oil, food, and clothing.
Indian Trade Activities Driving Towards New Heights
Earlier China had an upper hand in the market of ceramics, textiles, and homeware. It was the major player in exporting these goods to the European and US markets. But, with the advent of coronavirus and its grappling effects on China, global buyers are now turning to Indian business entities for purchasing ceramics, homeware, lifestyle and fashion, textile, and engineering goods.
In recent times, Indian manufacturers and exporters are increasingly receiving orders, especially from the European and US markets seeking to replace China as the major supplier.
At the peak of the coronavirus pandemic in February 2020, India started to receive several international inquiries surpassing China. According to Rakesh Kumar, Director General, Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts, “We have received around 50 new accounts in the past seven days who were earlier sourcing their products from China but now want to source homeware, fashion and lifestyle goods, textiles and furniture from India.”
Similarly, at the Cevisama, the ceramic fair in Spain, Indian companies created a lot of buzz among the buyers due to the muted competition posed by China. One of the Delhi-based exporters said at the fair, “We expect to get a head start in ceramics, especially in vitrified tiles, where we compete with China.”
India, a Labor-intensive Product Market
India has always been a labor-intensive product market. The clients in the European and the US markets have set their sights on this market as it has been able to give an excellent alternative to a more conservative Chinese counterpart.
However, a good start may fizzle out if India is not able to sustain this lead. It will face several challenges along the journey to fully replace China in the Ceramics, Textile, and Homeware segments.
Right from the industry leaders to policymakers at the highest level – they need to work towards making the product more quality-intensive and trade terms more service-oriented so that they fulfill global requirements without any complication.
Here, global players like MeeraShree are making a lot of efforts to mark their presence in the European and US market with their high-quality products and trusted customer services.